East Lothian bike accident boy wakes from coma

AN eleven-year-old boy knocked off his bike in a road accident has regained consciousness after two weeks in a coma.

Harry Davies, a P7 pupil at Pencaitland Primary School, East Lothian, was struck a glancing blow from behind by a van as he cycled along a road near the village.

He suffered a cracked skull and was put into a medically-induced coma at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

His mother Lisa said he had woken up on Sunday after doctors reduced his medication. “He is really making progress,” she said. “He’s talking to people and he recognises his family and friends.

“He was woken up from the coma after one week but he wasn’t able to handle it so doctors put him back to sleep for another week to let his brain recover. After that he woke up and was able to cope with it.”

She said her son was lucky to be alive after the accident on the B6363 Boggs Holdings Road on June 3.

“Medical staff told us that if Harry hadn’t been wearing a helmet he would have died. He’s always been very safety conscious and he wouldn’t have got on a bike without a helmet.”

She said an off-duty firefighter and two carers had helped Harry at the scene and Medic One attended. “I think the fact they were able to get him to hospital very quickly helped to save his life.”

She has called for East Lothian Council to look at safety measures on the road where the accident happened. “It is just a quiet country lane. I would like it to get a speed bump or ramp to make it a bit safer.”

The driver of the van involved in the accident has been helping police with their inquiries.